THE FARMER'S STORY
Reading edition
I.
wolfdistanceimpatientbreathe
pokedscrambledintendingpressed
terrorperhapstroublesomepunish
One pleasant summer morning a wolf met a bear in a lonely wood. In a tree near by, a bird was singing.
"Brother," said the bear, "that is very good singing, indeed. What kind of bird do you think it is?"
"That is a tomtit," said the wolf.
"I should like to see his nest. Where do you think it is?" asked the bear.
"Perhaps we shall see if we wait until his mate comes home," said the wolf.
Soon the mother bird came flying with some food in her mouth for her children. She went to the tree where her mate was singing.
"Now, I shall climb the tree," said the bear.
"Not yet," said the wolf. "Wait until the birds leave the nest."
They walked away for some distance, but soon returned, for the bear was impatient to see the nest. He scrambled up the tree, intending to frighten the young birds.
"Take care," said the wolf. "The tomtits are very little, but little enemies are sometimes very troublesome."
"Who is afraid of a tomtit?" said the bear, as he poked his black nose into the nest.
"Go away! go away!" screamed the poor little birds in terror.
"What do you mean by making such a noise and talking so to me?" said the bear. "I will teach you better manners."
So he put his great paw on the nest and pressed it down until the poor little birds could hardly breathe. Then he left them and went away.
The young tomtits were terribly frightened, and some of them were hurt. When the old birds came home they were very angry.
They could see the bear walking about among the trees, but they did not know how to punish him.
II.
peepedprudentfollowedtoward
flutterwhethersurroundednailed
escapeprowlingoverlookedpaused
Not far away there was a glen, surrounded by high rocks, where the bear used to go to sleep because it was a lonely place.
One day, as he was prowling in the woods, he saw two hunters coming with their guns. In fright, he fled to his glen, where he thought he should be safe.
The tomtits saw the bear run to the rocks and hide in terror.
"Why is the bear hiding?" said one bird to the other.
"Do you see those hunters with their guns?" said the mother tomtit. "If only they can find the bear, then our little ones will be safe. Let us help them."
So the tomtits began to flutter around the hunters and fly a little way toward the glen and then back again. The men followed the birds to see what could be the matter.
By and by the bear saw the hunters coming, led on by his little enemies, the tomtits. He ran from one side of the glen to the other. He hid himself in a cave among the rocks. But he could not escape the hunters.
The wolf happened to be near by upon the rocks that overlooked the glen. Hearing the noise, he came and peeped over.
As soon as he saw what had happened to the bear, he thought it would be prudent for him to walk away. This he did, saying to himself as he went:—
"Well, the bear has found out that a friend is better than an enemy, whether he is great or small."
Here the farmer paused. He had ended his story.
"What did they do with the bear?" asked Rollo.
"Oh," said the farmer, "they took off his skin to make caps of, and nailed his claws up on the barn."
—Jacob Abbott.